CJ Stroud is preparing to embark on his NFL career after a two-year run as the starting quarterback at Ohio State. He remains in contention as a potential top-5 pick for the 2023 NFL Draft.

Regardless of where he winds up, Stroud knows his time as a Buckeye has helped prepare him for dealing with the outside noise at the next level. In fact, he shared the great lengths Ohio State fans went to in order to criticize his play during the 2022 season.

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In a Friday interview with Jim Rome, Stroud admitted he received critical messages through the Venmo money app during the season since he does not utilize social media in the season.

“It’s a two-way street. We’re all humans and (some) people tell you they don’t care, they’re blocking it out. For me and my teammates, being at Ohio State, if you have social media or any type of technology, Ohio State fans have it,” explained Stroud. “I was getting DMs — I don’t have social media during the season — I was getting DMs on Venmo, the money app through fans telling me to play better. It comes with the territory.

“It was insane, but at the end of the day, it comes with the territory. I learned so much from it.”

C.J. Stroud on Proving People Right from The Jim Rome Show on Vimeo.

Of course, that type of criticism is not indicative of all Ohio State fans in the community, but it is eye-opening, to say the least. While Stroud did have some poor performances and left Columbus without a win in The Game, he remains one of the most accomplished passers in program history.